Our goal was to move to Autheni-City with the whole family. We had seen pictures of it and heard it was a great place to not only visit but to live. In fact, Mary and I had some friends move there a few years ago, and they say it’s the best!

We were living in Toxi-City at the time. We had lived there for a few years, but it was enough time to embrace our surroundings yet not too much for it to really feel like home. It felt like there was another place for us somewhere.

There was a lot of noise where we used to live—very industrial, very loud and very dirty. Mary was sick a few times with an upper respiratory infection and our kids were frequently sick. later we discovered I was the carrier! I wasn’t really watching

I sat down with one of today’s most influential church leaders, Carey Nieuwhof, to talk about our story, our leadership story. The link will take you directly to Carey’s site where you can download the podcast.

I hope our story is an encouragement to anyone who feels the effect of burnout, overwork, and life spin.

The biggest risk a leader can take is telling the story of who they are with their whole heart. Also known as vulnerability. When you reveal the junk in your life to others, there is a substantial risk involved.

Others may disconnect from you. That’s rejection.

Others may tell others about your situation. That’s painful.

Others may lecture you. That’s humiliating.

So why take the risk? Answer, So you can experience freedom!

I used several strategies when I didn’t want to open up and talk about the hidden hurts or hang-ups in my life and I got pretty good at it. The most basic and most used tactic was

This post differs from many in that it’s more of an audio post. A few weeks ago I spoke at David C Cook’s Tru Gathering at Willow Creek. The topic, God Restores. I spent some time exploring the what and why of restoration but what got me was the how.

I have written out a few thoughts with verses on the topic but would encourage you to download the audio and listen to the story of how God Restores. I believe that during the talk I was changed more than the people listening.

God shows up in unique ways and, at times, when we are not ready or willing to come to Him. This was such a moment for me.